


(Y/N): Become Psychologist

by 28stcbwounds



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Multi, Other, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Slow Burn, Smut, gavin being gavin x 10, not realistic to the psych field sometimes oops, please don't ever do this irl thanks, reader is NOT a Detective, sketchy psychology practices
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-26 11:27:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18716119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/28stcbwounds/pseuds/28stcbwounds
Summary: (Y/N), a newly hired police psychologist for the Detroit Police Department, is tasked with performing a psychological evaluation on both Hank and Connor, which is no easy feat.If you enjoy my writing and would like a piece tailored specifically to you, please consider requesting a commission from me! My twitter is @28stcbwounds, so please feel free to drop me a message, and I'll work with you as best as I can! Thank you!





	(Y/N): Become Psychologist

**Author's Note:**

> hey! you beautiful human! if you're using google chrome to read this on a laptop, do me a favor and install the interactivefics extension if you haven't already! it literally changes Alex to your actual name and it makes the whole experience way more immersive.
> 
> you can check it out here!: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/interactivefics/pcpjpdomcbnlkbghmchnjgeejpdlonli?hl=en

* * *

Alex took a deep breath and placed her free hand on the cold door handle of her car, attempting to prepare her mind, body, and soul for her first day as the brand new police psychologist for the Detroit Police Department. She lucked into this position, to be quite honest; it isn’t everyday a new licensed psychologist is approached by the captain of one of the largest police forces in the United States and offered a job. Nonetheless, here she was.

 _Positive self-talk_ , she reminded herself as she sucked in a shaky breath, opening up her door at last and exposing herself to the spiteful February weather. She adjusted her backpack into a more comfortable position. _That’s what they told you to practice with patients struggling with self-deprecation, right? That’s no different than you, right now._ She trudged toward the building that now towered above her, feeling fear in the bottom of her stomach, a few fifty-pound weights threatening to drag her closer to a downward spiral.

“You’ll be fine, Alex.” She mumbled as she kept a steady pace toward the building. Her movements mimicked those of her mechanical cohorts, even though she was human. “Captain Fowler wouldn’t have even approached you with this opportunity if he didn’t think your dissertation and accomplishments were great.” Alex attempted to justify, void of confidence. And she was right, even if she didn’t believe it in the moment.

* * *

 " _...and on behalf of everyone at the American Psychological Association, congratulations to Alex Engelhardt for graduating as the valedictorian of the 2040-2041 school year at Warren-Cypress University, for writing a groundbreaking dissertation about human-android companionships that will undoubtedly pave the way for further thorough psychological understanding, for her outstanding work in her completion of the required 3000 supervised hours, and finally, for receiving her decorated license from us today,” President MacKiernan finished, beaming at Alex with pride as she clapped with an air of both grace and excitement._

_Alex returned the smile and cast her gaze out at the large crowd, waving at them courteously as her metallic gold graduation gown glinted from the stage lights and dazzled the audience. She looked like a star and felt like a supernova: everything inside her burned with the fiery brilliance of a million galaxies. She was terrified._

_President MacKiernan stepped off the podium and leaned in towards Alex’s ear. Speaking in a low tone, she asked: “Would you like to say a few words?” Alex smiled and nodded slowly. Sure, she had prepared for this like she had all of the other important, non-spontaneous events of her life, obsessive practice and revision, but rehearsing it in front of one’s mirror and a crowd of one’s want-to-be peers are two drastically different scenarios. “Yes,” she responded._

_Alex felt herself step behind the podium, all eyes in the hall now falling on her, and she took a deep breath and smiled. Where anxiety once resided, pride now flourished as she retrieved her notecards from the pocket of her gown._ I made it this far, _Alex thought to herself._ I made it _this_ far. This is my moment, and I’m not going to let anxiety stop me from delivering the most impactful speech I may ever have to give. _And with this new, however short-lived, burst of confidence, she began to speak._

* * *

That’s when Fowler approached her: after she left the stage, that is. She remembered - not that she could ever forget -  that he had called her “incredible” and a “much needed ray of hope and understanding, for both humans and androids alike” and handed her his business card post haste, urging her to look into the DPD’s police psychologist position. And that’s how Alex ended up here today, standing in front of two glass doors and looking up at the gargantuan building in front of her, the Detroit Police Department. Why couldn’t she have that mysterious boost of confidence again right now? 

“You can do this, Alex.” She wrapped both of her hands around the freezing steel door handle and pulled with all of her might; the warm rush of heat hit Alex’s face and she sighed in gratefulness. At least she wasn’t cold anymore. She relaxed her shoulders and straightened her coat in an attempt to look more put together than she felt and, after gaining as much composure as she could muster, marched toward the reception desk. 

Alex hoped it was an android manning reception and immediately internally grimaced at her preference. She felt horrible for even thinking that. After all, androids had requested that they be treated like equals and be recognized as another intelligent life form, but  for some reason, she always found it easier talking to androids rather than humans, even after the revolution. She understood their cause: the oppression of their people and the desperate want to be seen as equal drove their protest forward. And for that, she sympathized with them.

To Alex’s slightly twisted approval, it _was_ an android at the desk. She blinked a few times and smiled at Alex, her face calm as she asked, “How can I help you today?”

“I’m Dr. Engelhardt,” she said, pulling out her ID. “I’m the new police psychologist.” The mechanical woman scanned it, LED flashing a scintillating yellow, and handed it back to her.

“Welcome to the DPD. Your office is located on the 42nd floor. Captain Fowler will meet you there.” With a polite nod serving as her thanks, Alex made her way to the elevators in silence and stepped into one alone, giving a soft thanks to whatever higher power there was and began ringing her hands together with force. _Don’t panic. You are brilliant and deserve to be here._ But even with her kind words to herself, the impending doom which she had imposed upon herself grew at a fixed pace and the weights in her stomach, once again, threatened to drag her downward into the earth.

After what felt like just seconds, the elevator doors opened with a soft ‘ding!’ and Alex was brought to her senses by the sound. _It’s go time._

She stared straight ahead and adjusted her thick jacket again, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in. And, as she took her first step, she felt her forehead collide with the cold glass elevator doors with a loud ‘thunk!’ and was forced backwards.

“Ow!” Alex exclaimed, rubbing her injured forehead with one of her hands. That was _not_ the entrance she planned to make. She felt an embarrassed heat creep up her neck and jaw and she looked at the ground to avoid seeing if anyone noticed the collision. _It’s okay, Alex,_ she tried to reason with her anxiety. _Nobody noticed; everything’s fine, everything’s fi-_ The doors opened again and Alex now found herself face-to-face with Captain Fowler who beared a worried look.

“Dr. Engelhardt! Are you alright?” Fowler asked, pulling her out of the elevator before she could injure herself again.

“Yes, I’m just fine, Captain. Those elevator doors are just a lot cleaner than I expected,” Alex jested, and to her relief, the captain laughed. _Nice. See? Fowler doesn’t think you’re an idiot. You’ll be just fine._

“Well, I’m sure we all would hate to see our newest member get a concussion on her first day. We usually wait until the seventh day to give you an injury.” The two snickered and Fowler motioned for her to walk beside him. Alex looked up and became enthralled in her surroundings; the amount of technology in this room alone was marvelous, from the touch screen walls for piecing evidence together, to a glowing blue sign reading ‘ARSENAL’ in bold letters, to the barless holding cells which held perpetrators. Alex wasn’t sure she would ever get used to the surge of technology.

“Welcome to the headquarters of the Detroit Police Department, home of the finest officers and detectives. And Gavin Reed.” Fowler introduced. She raised an eyebrow.

“I’m sure you’ll see what I mean by the end of today.” He replied, alluding to her confusion. The captain gestured his hand to the left toward a group of detectives standing around one desk, eyes trained on something that had to be important, Alex deduced. “That’s Chris Miller: another remarkable new face like yourself. Sharp as a tack and doesn’t miss anything. In the center is Tina Chen - she’s quiet but an efficient officer, to say the least - and to the right of her is the infamous Gavin Reed. He’s standoffish and intense, but he gets the job done, I suppose.”

Alex nodded with vigor as she scanned the faces of her fellow coworkers. “Chris, Tina, and Gavin,” she repeated. “Got it.”

Fowler nodded with a smile and motioned his hand to the right, directing her attention toward two of her other coworkers. One of them had their back as straight as a pole, barely touching the chair behind him, and was tossing a quarter between his hands and catching it in between two of his fingers rather impressively. The other was hunched forward, tangled gray hair falling in his face as his intense gaze was directed toward his monitor. _An anxious, over-analyzing officer and a depressed, burnt-out officer who are going to be quite the… challenge to work with. Hopefully this is where Fowler will have me start. I’m going to have a long road ahead of me_ , Alex lamented.

“And that’s Lieutenant Anderson and Detective Connor. They come as a pair. Attached at the hip, those two are.”

“Connor doesn't have a last name?” Alex stopped walking and wondered aloud.

“Not that he's told us, no. He’s an android.” Fowler said, plain as day.

“Oh! I’m sorry: I didn’t know.” She apologized. “I didn’t mean to-”

“Don’t worry about it,” He cut her off with a polite smile. “It happens.” Captain Fowler signaled for Alex to turn toward them. “Anderson! Connor!”

The man who could only be accurately described as the human form of a gray-haired grizzly bear looked up from his monitor and at Fowler and Alex. He had deep bags under his eyes, like someone who hadn’t slept in 20 years, yet his blue eyes themselves were full of a deep, strange mixture of hauntedness and hope. The other man, crisp and clean in comparison to his partner, promptly stopped playing with his coin and placed his hands in his lap, like a well-trained dog.

“This is Dr. Engelhardt.” She raised her hand and offered them a warm smile. “She’s the new police psychologist that will be working with you two starting today.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Engelhardt!” Connor said, suddenly standing and extending his hand toward Alex. Her damned preference took hold again and Alex let her smile break out into a grin as she took it in a firm handshake.

“Pleasure to meet you, too, Detective.”

“Please: call me Connor.” He smiled. In that moment, all of Alex’s remaining anxiety melted away: he had one of the most endearing smiles she had ever seen, the kind that remind you of coming into the house from playing in the snow to have warm hot chocolate that your dad made you and your friends, the kind that remind you of the best hug you’ve ever received, the kind that remind you that no matter what happens in life, everything is going to be okay. That’s all Alex could have asked for in that very moment.

“Oh, well, in that case Connor, please call me Alex. Pleasure to meet you as well, Lieutenant Anderson.” She offered her hand to him as well, but he waved it off.

“Yeah, yeah,” He grumbled, looking back down at his computer and beginning to type with vigor. “Nice to meet you, too, Doc.”

Connor, still standing, leaned in to murmur in Alex’s ear: “Lieutenant Anderson doesn't usually partake in formalities. Please don’t take it personally. He also is just upset he has to be in the office before noon this morning.” She clasped a hand to her mouth with force to suppress her laughter. _Aren’t we all,_ she thought to herself.

“Well!” The captain clasped his hands together, turning back toward the two men. “As I said, Alex will be joining to two of you today and will be conducting a psychological evaluation of each of you. Separately.” _I knew it_ , Alex thought to herself. _It’s always best to start with the hardest._

“A _what_?” Anderson spat with venom. He stopped typing and his attention snapped back to Alex and the captain. Alex resisted the urge to step away from him and instead spoke with a calm tone in a furious endeavor to get him to calm down.

“Lieutenant, I know it can be particularly uncomfortable for someone to talk about their experiences and emotions with someone they don’t know, or don’t trust, but opening up about these things is important for both you and your job here at the DPD.”

“The hell it is!” Anderson shouted as he stood, pushing his chair back into one of the touchscreen walls.

“Lieutenant Anderson!” Connor scolded. Alex could feel her heartbeat spike, pounding faster than before, but she forced herself to keep her composure. “It’s essential to your position here.” Connor continued.

“I’m sorry, Lieutenant,” she could feel a slight quiver in her voice. _Damn it._ “It actually is. The U.S. government has issued a-”

“I don’t give damn what the government says!” The lieutenant threw his hands up into the air in frustration.

“Might I remind you-” Fowler growled. “-that you work in law enforcement?” Anderson paused and let out a sigh, moving a hand backward to grab his rolling chair and pull it forward. He sat back down in exasperation and defeat and Connor followed suit.

“If it takes longer than 15 minutes, I’m leaving.”

“Fair enough,” Alex gave him a gracious smile. Lieutenant Anderson just scowled at her.

“Now that that’s settled, you’re welcome to use the empty desk behind Connor and to use the interrogation room for the evaluations if you would like.”

“Bit on the nose there, Jeffery,” the older man grumbled.

“I actually agree,” said Connor, to Alex’s surprise. “I think both Lieutenant Anderson and I would be much more comfortable completing our evaluations in a setting that seems more adapted for a conversation rather than one suited for an interrogation.” Captain Fowler turned to Alex, raising an eyebrow at her as if to ask what she thinks.

“My apologies, Captain Fowler, but I’m with them. The interrogation room seems too harsh for something like a psychological evaluation. I’d like to ask you for permission to take them to my at-home office, if that’s alright.”

“As long as the officers can complete the psych eval to get the state off my ass, I don’t really care where you take them. Just make sure it’s done,” Fowler sighed. It was obvious that his encounter with the lieutenant frustrated him, so Alex beamed up at his tall figure.

“Thank you for taking the time to show me around, Captain. I appreciate it.” He smiled in response.

“Let me know when you’re finished working with these two; if you have time before the end of the day, I’d like you to work with the other officers as well so we can get these done and out of the way.”

“Got it!” Alex chirped.

“Lieutenant. Detective. Doctor.” Fowler addressed the three of them and made his way back to his office. _This is going to be a long day_.

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first thing i've written in a long time and i'm actually really proud of it! please leave a comment let me know if you like this first chapter! 
> 
> personally, i think the flashback ran a little long, but I liked it too much to take it out. 
> 
> thanks! ♥,  
> alex


End file.
